Dove Trace neighbors disrupted by grocery store

Residents of the Dove Trace neighborhood in The Woodlands say they continue to endure noise from delivery trucks arriving as early as 3 a.m. at an H-E-B store in The Woodlands.

Residents complained about noise from construction late at night and in the early morning hours starting last year. The store opened in mid-March, but the noise problems have continued, according to residents of Dove Trace who live directly behind the store, which is at the corner of Kuykendahl Road and Woodlands Parkway.

Holly Montalbano, director of public affairs for H-E-B, said the company is aware that some vendors' vehicles are still arriving at the store before they are supposed to.

Vendors have been made aware of the hours in which they are supposed to deliver, she said.

"Sometimes, it just takes a while for that information to filter through to the individuals that drive the trucks," Montalbano said.

The company is working to inform those drivers of the hours, she said.

Some residents have requested that the company change its weekend delivery hours from starting at 6 a.m. to starting at 8 a.m.

Montalbano said changing the weekend delivery hours would not be considered.

"We all agreed to the hours months ago," she said. "This is a fair compromise."

Most H-E-B stores accept deliveries 24 hours a day, she said.

"We made an exception for this store," Montalbano said.

That decision was made during a meeting that involved select representatives from area neighborhoods, especially Dove Trace, and everyone agreed to the hours, Montalbano said.

Joel Deretchin, president of The Woodlands Association and vice president of residential operations at The Woodlands Operating Company, said he hopes all the vendors comply with the agreed hours.

"Those types of time frames are unusual in the grocery industry," Deretchin said. "I think it will take a time period to train delivery people to adhere to those hours."

"The store director, George Wood, has assured me that all drivers have been told about the delivery times and that no employees are at the store to take deliveries," said TWA board member Lloyd Matthews, who represents the Village of Indian Springs, where Dove Trace is located.

Lighting problems, which started with the construction of the building, also continue to be a problem, Fritz said.

Shields, which are supposed to prevent shopping center lights from affecting residents, have not been installed, he said.

"The lights are still shining on our back doors," Fritz said.

Matthews said shields have not been completed on part of the strip mall section and the developer is purchasing those.

He has offered to take resident complaints to Wood.

TWA is responsible for taking care of the delivery times and the Design Review Committee is supposed to ensure the shields are installed, Matthews said.